The Little Theatre to present Tennessee Williams classic

Little Theatre of Tuscarawas County will close its 2022-23 season with the Tennessee Williams’ classic, “The Glass Menagerie.” The show, directed by Sarah Spies, will open Thursday, Aug. 17 and run Aug. 18, 19, 20, 24, 25, 26 and 27.

Spies, who is making her directorial debut at the theater, has been involved for the past 10 years, serving as wardrobe chair for five years and as a member of the theater board. Some of her favorite past roles on stage include “Legally Blonde: The Musical” (Vivienne), “Thoroughly Modern Millie” (Alice) and “My Name Is Rachel Corrie” (Rachel).

She has served as an assistant director and worked backstage. Outside of the theater, Spies has been involved with Trumpet in the Land and Black Box Ensemble Theatre, but her favorite role is as the musical director at New Philadelphia High School.

“The play is memory,” said Tom Wingfield, the show’s narrator, who guides the audience through his past, giving context to the social and political background of his life in late 1930s St. Louis.

The action centers around the possibility of a gentleman caller for Laura, Wingfield’s terribly shy older sister, but it also explores the tenuous relationship Wingfield has with his family, especially his mother Amanda, a Southern Belle whose life has not turned out the way she had hoped.

Laura Wingfield remains preoccupied with her collection of small glass animals and old phonograph records, too fragile to aspire to anything beyond the four walls of their apartment. When Jim O’Connor arrives for supper, the Wingfield family is forced to come to grips with their own reality beyond the illusions they have created for themselves.

“We plan to use haze to give a dream-like quality, like you’re looking through a window or looking at an old, faded photograph,” Spies said. “The set will look incomplete — not fully formed — because we’re seeing this through the eyes of Tom, our narrator. Everything is just slightly off, but you can’t quite put your finger on what’s wrong.

“It has been so fun to get to dive into the text of this play with the cast, finding moments and details that allow us to understand the characters in a new way. This cast has worked so hard to understand their characters and what informs their thoughts and actions. The music has also been a fun piece to work with. It helps to set the tone for certain moments as moods shift within the scenes.”

The cast includes Jay Cochran as Tom Wingfield, Elizabeth Thomakos as Amanda, Anna Zurcher as Laura and Michael Antonelli as Jim O’Connor.

Spies’ staff members are Francis Brogan, assistant director; Seth Rhodes, Chelsea Dendler and Ryan Flaherty, lighting; Haley Kimble, sound; Daelyn Carpenter, stage manager; and Kyra Drescher, Matt Spies and Don Irven, additional technical assistance.

Sponsored by Andrew, Kait and Eliza Wilsterman, “The Glass Menagerie” features performances at 7:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 2:30 p.m. matinees on Sundays. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students and children. They are available online at www.thelittletheatreonline.org or at the Kent State Performing Arts Center ticket office.